Homeless Solutions: More of the Same or Strategic New Ideas?

In the past decades, strategies, solutions, and programs to help the homeless have come and gone. It seems like every year, a new “more effective” way to resolve homelessness has been touted. From “continuum of cares”, “homeless access centers”, “housing projects”, to “Housing First”, “Ten Year Plans”, and “Permanent Supportive Housing.”

The latest best “mouse trap”? It’s targeting a handful of the most vulnerable homeless people on the streets, and finding them housing. In Los Angeles, it’s called “Project Fifty”. In Santa Monica, it’s the “Chronic Homeless Project”, and their goal is the 10 most vulnerable. It’s also been used in New York City.

The theory goes… take a handful of the most vulnerable people living on the streets and place them in permanent housing. And it will cause a “tipping point” toward ending homelessness in that specific area. L.A. County is spending $5.6 million to help 50 people in Skid Row.

The whispers within county/city folks, and those who are involved in homeless services (and I say whispers, because no one wants to stick their neck out, but are willing to talk off-line), is that it’s just another new fangled idea to address a societal problem that has been entrenched for coming up to 3 decades. Reporters have called me, to try to find someone on record who opposes this new idea.

Frankly, I like the fact that people are trying new solutions to combat homelessness. Maybe it just reaffirms my early studies in Architecture, where we were always challenged to think outside of the box.

As long as “one idea” doesn’t become the “only solution”, I’m all for it.

We need Project 50 as an effective outreach approach, “housing first” to help people access housing quickly, “permanent supportive housing” for those struggling with disabilities, “PATH Malls” as a community center that coordinates linking services to housing, “Ten Year Plans” to make sure a community has a business plan to ending homelessness… and so on and so on…

Let’s keep the ideas and innovations coming… we can’t just keep doing the same old thing in addressing homelessness.

(Pic from www.emergentchaos.com)

“The Homeless Are Raiding Our Recycling Bins!”

The continual saga of homeless campers in the Golden Gate Park has extended to angry complaints that the people who are homeless are stealing the contents of local residents’ recycling bins.

I’ve been writing about this park in the past, because it is in a city that publicly touts that they have reduced street homelessness. The real question for San Francisco is whether people living on SF’s streets are truly being housed, or whether they are being swept away—and maybe even into their parks where they can hide.

Back to the park. The article in the SFGate says:

“But most of all, the residents were upset at the fact that the homeless campers in Golden Gate Park were raiding their recycling bins at night, loading up on cans and bottles, and turning them in for cash. It was, some said, a virtual ATM for those struggling with drug and alcohol addictions.”

So the fight against homeless campers is now aimed at a local recycling center near the park where homeowners say is the source of contention.

It is interesting that communities fight over the peripheral, rather than address the root causes of homelessness—housing, health care, and employment.


(Pic from sawn-images.spruxllc.com)

No More Beach Living In Oahu

I guess if you were homeless in Hawaii, the best place to go would be on the beach, with the mild temperatures, ocean breezes, and world-renowned beaches. But it looks like that exotic beach life is now coming to an end.

Authorities are sweeping the beaches clean of homelessness. On one beach in Oahu, 100 people were living there. Soon, they will have no place to go.

It’s another example of how communities are getting fed up with homelessness, and are willing to use law enforcement to address the issue.

Without the balance of affordable housing linked to social services, law enforcement will not be successful in resolving homelessness.

(Pic from http://www.fsswh.org/)

When Government Just Doesn’t Work…

The government’s solution to the victims of Hurricane Katrina was to purchase and transport thousands and thousands of trailers for those who lost their homes. This expensive band-aid didn’t do anything but prolong the suffering.

Now we find out that these trailers were not meant for long-term living, and contained formaldehyde that could have caused cancer. FEMA denies that they even knew about this.

It’s a sad example of how government should NOT operate. Bad solutions, health concerns, and blatant denials.

Sadly, the victims of homelessness continue to suffer because government and community are not doing enough. Sometimes addressing homelessness has caused the same—bad solutions, health concerns, and blatant denials. When no one is willing to accept the responsibility of homelessness.

Government and local community leaders need to raise the bar, and take seriously the fact that homelessness is affecting hundreds of thousands of Americans.